With Brown at Lectern, Speech Won’t Be Boring

What does Willie Brown, the mayor of San Francisco and erstwhile Assembly speaker, have to say to Orange County business people?

Brown is the guest speaker at the Orange County Business Council’s annual dinner meeting in Irvine tonight, and the organization is promising “an eye-opening presentation.”

The title of Brown’s speech is “California’s Business Retention Crusade: On Target or Off-Base.” Even Brown’s aides aren’t sure how he’ll address that topic. “One of the joys of hearing Willie Brown speak is you never know what he’s going to say,” said Brown spokesman P.J. Johnston. He noted that Brown, renowned for his speaking skills, has been known to disarm even the most hostile audiences.

Brown might be regarded as “the poster child for liberal politics in California,” Johnston said. But, he added, “I think the mayor will knock any questions out of the park as to whether he’s friendly to business.”

Johnston pointed out that Brown, while Assembly speaker, helped forge a bipartisan effort with Gov. Pete Wilson to overhaul the state workers’ compensation system. As San Francisco mayor, he’s been outspoken in his support of a new stadium for the city’s professional sports teams--a project heavily favored by the business community, Johnston said. Brown has also been working with business leaders to help the Bay Area recover from military base closures, he said.

Past speakers for the annual business council event have included former President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Council spokesman Ron Kirkpatrick said the organization received a few complaints from local executives about the choice of the liberal Democrat for this year’s meeting. But Brown was invited to speak because “he’s got a ton of knowledge to offer and a great perspective as to what’s going on at the state level and insight on how business and politics can work together.”

Besides, he said, “he would not leave people falling asleep in their rubber peas.”

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Patrice Apodaca covers economic issues for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5979 and at patrice.apodaca@latimes.com.